bled dry until empty
by her halcyon days
Summary: I look at Death and Pain in the face and say, "Hello, friends." - Sakura/Sasuke, Gaara/OC.
1. empty eyes and broken smiles

Title: bled dry until empty

Author: smiles-in-her-ocean-blue-eyes

Dedication: xxaa-chanxx because she's pushing me to do this for _so fucking long_ and it's finally here!

Summary: Even if she feels like stopping now because she's tired, she painfully trudges on because life stops for no one.

* * *

_Their house is old and dilapidated. The paint is chipping off, the doors creak dangerously, and there's an overall stench of something rotting in the air of the house. The ambience of the house is something sinister you can feel all the way to your bones and you could just feel that this was a house where everything bad occurred, dreams were crushed, and innocence is something violated and meaningless, bled dry until its empty._

_Two little girls are hiding in this rickety, old house. Hiding from something, but it's only a matter od time until one of them is breaks first and he'll find them. They're barely breathing and their arms and legs hurt from cramps, but if they're caught now, they'll hurt much worse. But, for now, they're safe because he's busy. But, their safety comes with a price._

_They can hear him from the other room because the walls are paper thin, so the girls also must be dead silent. They're crammed together into a kitchen cupboard above the sink where he'll never look because in his mind these two little girls are too fat (everything's wrong with them, he thinks) to fit. But, right now, they're not even in his mind._

_No. Right now, all he can think of is his wife in front of him and fucking the living shit out of her. She's crying, tears streaming down in pain, but he doesn't give a flying fuck. She feels great under him because she's fucking tight and squeezing his cock and, fuck, he's so close to his release and all he needs is to let go. _

_He's thrusting into her all the way to the hilt and she whimpers in pain each time, eyes squeezed tight to overpower the pain. Oh, but now, he wants none of that. He wants her to watch. So, he yells, "Open your eyes, fucking slut! Watch me fuck you hard!" Her eyes don't flutter once and it enrages him all the more. So even as he's fucking her, he slaps her straight across the face and she makes a cry of pain. Ah, what a beautiful sound. Such pain. It's almost beautiful the way she breaks. He grabs her face with both hands and stares at her in the eyes. Her eyes are scared and terrified, her body is trembling, and she just wants to sleep, but he forcefully pries her eyes open and makes as her watch as he climaxes into her once, twice, thrice, over and over again..._

_It's finally over and he falls on top of her and he's heavy and sweaty and she feels her lungs suffocating at the stench of unwanted sex and weakness, but just for her little girls, she closes her eyes and pretends that she's just dreaming. He finally catches his breath and he unceremoniously pushes her off the bed and he says, "Stupid whore, go somewhere else..." She sighs quietly in relief. She lunges out of the room in search for her beautiful girls. She throws open the cupboard doors and she meets two gazes, one ocean blue and one forest green (both half-crazed in terror) and nearly cries in relief. She pulls both of them out one by one and they both cry into her neck and she holds them tight and smiles at how much her children love her. They quietly wail because they know that if he's woken up now, he'll go into another rage and then all of them will be in pain. So they quietly cry for their beautiful, broken mother who has sacrificed everything for them and they show their love even more by tightening their lanky small arms around her neck. The woman smiles serenely. She feels their pain and tears, but most of all their undying love for her and that makes her happier. Neither child has let up her hold, but it's okay because right now, this is their beautiful mother-and-her-children-and-their-love moment. Yes, this is what she lives for..._

* * *

The crowd behind her is a dull roar and all she can focus on is cutting down this motherfucker before he slices her up with his lethal katanas. But, at this point in the game with the fight so dragged out, he is wild with desperation and lunges and slashes wildly. In response, she moves like the wind, lithe and easy, and it pisses the hell out of her opponent.

His body has needles stuck in him every which way and place and it hinders his movement, sending shocks of pain here and there.

"Little bitch, stop fucking moving and let me cut you!" She smirks at this prodigious man before her and it sends him into a bigger frenzy.

"The fuck you think you are? Cocky piece of shit, women like gotta fucking stay at home and do the fu—"

Oh, no. None of that. None of the you-have-ovaries-so-stay-at-home-and-make-me-a-sandwich crap. Sakura Haruno has fought too long and hard to survive in this world dominated by men and one bitter fucktard wasn't going to prove her wrong.

He's an easy opponent, recklessly ruled by his emotions and quickly giving into his anger. His slashes are almost predictable because all he tries to do is rush in and cut down his foe. He puts too much strength into his attack and this makes him very easy to see through. Brute strength may have gotten him somewhere before, but Sakura is light on her feet and intuitive. It's almost ridiculously easy how she manages to fight him, but she has to make do with whatever she has.

Sakura sidesteps from his vicious uppercut and sends three senbon flying from her fingers and watches with grim satisfaction when he howls like an animal after he's hit. One hits his Adam's apple and he's thrown into a hacking fit. Another is driven into the pressure point between his shoulder and collarbone. The last is right below his solar plexus. All three are known to affect breathing patterns. He's wheezing and falls on all fours, making him incredibly vulnerable. She smiles at his obvious defeat and when he painfully raises his head and sees her face in between the fringe of her hair, it's all he can do to squeeze out a few choice words.

She's walking to him on the balls of her feet because even if the enemy is down, you never underestimate your opponent. He growls at her darkly and throws his body at her, but she has been watching him for any sign of movement and she leaps out of the way before he can touch her. She's surprised at his will to keep moving even if he's in obvious pain and reevaluates her opinion on him; he has decent willpower. He catches himself, almost on the verge of teetering over because of the lack of oxygen. His back is facing him and before he can twist around, she sends one more needle to a particular part of his neck and renders him into unconsciousness.

The crowd is silent for a second until it explodes into roars of approval. A small, lean girl like Sakura taking out a gargantuan mass of muscle like her opponent is something that's amusing no matter how many times you see it.

Sakura's emerald green eyes glaze over for a second before she forces herself to rein herself in and catch herself. She takes a deep breath before facing the crowd with her arms high in the air. Sakura is a selective mute (_I told you to shut up, shut up, SHUT UP_!), so she can't say anything and instead, she leaves a parting performance. She spins on the top of her toes like a ballet dancer and dances her way around the circular ring, spinning on one foot and making 360 degree twirls that sends her petal pink hair spinning and her lean body is graceful. When she stops, she faces the crowd and she grins. But it's fake, stretching the skin at the ends of her lips and she really feels like vomiting the guilt, fear, _everything_ out, but as the people are leaving, Sakura catches the ocean blue eyes of her adoptive sister, Umiko Koyama, and sees the understanding in her eyes and knows that she doesn't suffer alone.

So, she pushes herself to wave her arms like she's happy and doesn't have a care in the world. Her opponent is being dragged out of the ring and watching him makes her feel her stomach plummet to the bottom of her toes and her heart starts beating erratically. When the people are half gone, she allows herself to leave the ring and make her way over to her sister and the two of them wordlessly make their way to the back exit so that they can avoid seeing anyone along the way.

She doesn't break down (_yet_), but it's coming and Umiko needs to be strong (_for now_) to support Sakura.

They slip out of the building easily and it's midnight, but the two girls are well-versed in the art of giving pain so they have nothing to worry about. It's still quiet and the silence is killing, choking, _suffocating_ them, but neither have the strength to break it.

When the girls finally reach their dingy home, Umiko looks at her sister in the eye, sees the void, and whispers, "Yeah. I know." Sakura's lips let a sob break out and her legs finally give out and Umiko is quick to catch her before she cracks on the ground. She embraces Sakura and gives her full support, gently patting her hair to show that, _no, you're not alone, but it's okay to cry so cry._ Sakura is a mess now, but everyone has those days and even if Sakura is an experienced fighter (_Stupid girl, I told you to know the human body through and through! Stop forgetting!_), she is still only human, after all.

Umiko carries Sakura over to their falling-apart bed and the two crawl in together. Sakura is still sobbing her heart-wrenching sobs and Umiko still holds her in her arms and Sakura curls in deeper towards Umiko's warmth, until at last her sniffling slows down and her breathing evens out in sleep.

Umiko stares at Sakura's innocent face as she sleeps, not riddled by pain or sadness. She remembers a time when Sakura was the epitome of happiness and her laughs were free and deep from the belly. She remembers when Sakura would grin and it came naturally from the bottom of her heart. She remembers a time when Umiko thought her innocence could never be tainted. Umiko thinks about back then, looks at Sakura, and hates the world that so corrupted the both of them. Umiko gazes at her sister softly and can only think that this twisted life wasn't made for someone as beautiful as Sakura.

* * *

It's early in the morning and Umiko groggily wakes herself up. She makes a jaw-splitting yawn and cringes at the bitter taste of morning breath. She pushes herself up from the lying position and looks over at the other girl, still sleeping soundlessly. Umiko has to poke and prod her until Sakura's face scrunches up unpleasantly, cracks one eyes open, contemplates for a second what she should do, and immediately stuffs her face into her pillow again, curling deeper into the bed. Umiko gives an amused half smile and begins to poke her in places she _knows_ Sakura will flail because she's ticklish. So ticklish that when Umiko pokes her once, Sakura's eyes fly open and her body jerks forward a foot, body dangling at the edge of the bed. The other girl laughs and laughs when Sakura panics at the chance of falling onto the cold, wooden floor and scrambles to get her balance in check. Once she's steady and Sakura can sink deeper into the bed, she balefully gales while Umiko smirks and Sakura sighs at this.

Umiko gives a small giggle and sighs happily and pulls herself out of bed.

"Come on. You and I both know that we have school today. Up, up, up!" Sakura sighs again and points at the drawer and the to herself, signaling that she would shower first. Umiko nods and says, "I'll make breakfast." Sakura fishes through her drawers, pulling out her clothes and rushes to the bathroom while Umiko walks to the kitchen to make fried eggs for the both of them.

* * *

Umiko has to scramble to grab everything for school and Sakura is hopping toward the door on one foot, trying to stuff her other foot into her Mary Janes. Before they run out the door, they make a quick assessment on each other, to make sure that they don't look like walking disasters, nod, and rush out. They need to run five blocks and it's not at all hard for them, but they're short on time and walking to school isn't all that appealing at the moment.

By the time the girls arrive at the bus stop, Umiko has to cry out, "Wait!" while the driver is half closing the automatic doors. After running at top speed, the girls are panting and attempting to catch their breaths, leaning on the doors of the bus. The bus driver grunts impatiently and the girls pick themselves up tiredly and slowly walk up the three steps up to pay the guy. He grunt again, this time in thanks and the two girls turn to see if there are any seats left. Seeing as there aren't any, they sigh in disappointment at the realization that they have to stand that much more.

"Hey, you new around here?" Umiko and Sakura are not all surprised by the male voice that speaks and chooses ignore the boy.

"Hey! I'm talking to you. Not deaf, are you?" Once again, there's no response. The guy growls in irritation and makes a grab at Umiko's wrist. However, Umiko notices this from the corner of her eye and jerks her wrist just out of reach. Now, she faces to look at him and sees that there is only one person between them. She looks to see what he looks like and is kinda disappointed. His face is somewhat good-looking, but she can tell he's an arrogant prick from the cocky smirk and he isn't worth the trouble. She looks around him and sees two more guys that look the same age as him and wear the same uniform. She looks down at the girls' own uniforms and irritatedly realizes that the boys' uniforms corresponds with their own. The group of guys notice this as well and smirk, "Koroki High, eh?" The corners of Umiko's lips dip into a frown and Sakura sighs in disappointment.

The bus stops suddenly and everyone in the bus must catch themselves from falling over. The girls shuffle through bodies and when they see the guys follow them, the girls move a little faster. The bus stopped right in front of the school and when the girls hop out of the bus, they immediately see the huge gates that are open and other students coming from every which way and the girls slowly make their way in.

But, when Sakura has made ten steps, there's suddenly a hand wrapped around her wrist, pulling her back. Umiko is quick to notice her absence by her side and looks back in alarm to see the guy on the bus tugging Sakura. There are too many students in between Sakura and Umiko and Umiko worries because Sakura is a little different and those unused to it are usually unforgiving.

"Hey, ignoring me back there, were you?" Sakura looks at the guy in mild irritation and makes a few tugs so that she can have her arm back.

"What do you think you're doing? You can't just ignore me and think you'll get away from me, do ya?" Still, Sakura has not said a word and this sets him off. She's still trying to make him let go and paying him no attention, like, _no, you're not grabbing onto my arm and I can't see you._

He roughly pulls her toward him and her face is five inches from his face and she can see the ire and the interest, but she has no desire to get to know him.

"Looks, Pinky, just 'cause you're a litt-fuck! OW! Bitch, what'd you do?!"

Now, instead of him grabbing her, he's backing away from her with his hand covering the inside of his elbow.

While they had been close, Sakura's lightning fast hand had harshly poked himon tthe inside of his elbow, immediately causing his hand to react by forcing his hand open and letting go of Sakura. Sakura takes her wrist back and rubs it. She looks at the guy with mild annoyance and walks back to where Umiko is standing, amusement dancing in her eyes. Sakura scowls at her amusement and speed walks past her and Umiko laughs at her reaction.

"Fucking bitch, where do ya think you're going!" It's the stupid fucking guy again and this time Umiko takes care of it by glaring at him with eyes that pierce into him and he startles to stop because his instincts are ringing their alarm bells screaming that if he says a word more, he's gonna get thrashed. The killing intent is clear in her blue eyes and the guy backs up rashly and stumblrmes into other people. She smiles a small smile, but it never reaches her eyes and it's filled with promised pain. He falls back some more and Umiko is satisfied that he gets the message.

She turns back and makes her way into the school again. Sakura is long gone into the building, but Umiko has always been good at finding her no matter where they are.

* * *

The bell has rung signifying the start of first period and Umiko and Sakura standing in front of the class, shifting uncomfortably. The class is curiously looking at the girls, wondering how anyone can have such... _different_ features. Umiko's snow white locks shine, almost too bright to look at. It's obvious that she's young, only high school, but it's virtually impossible for anyone to have _white _hair. However, Sakura's pastel pink hair is what really caused the commotion. Everyone in the class began to point fingers at Sakura and whisper behind their hands. Seriously, it's pink. Even her eyebrows, so the class can't decide whether the color is dyed or not. But, Sakura's hair is beautiful and gives a natural shine, so it's probably real. Probably. Umiko watches all this without surprise and Sakura has expected it as well. Sakura thinks sarcastically that the both of them are mutants and laughs at the irony because she knows how the world has turned them into real monsters already.

Finally, the teacher says in deep voice, "I am Uchiha-sensei. Welcome to the AP Calculus class. Please, feel free to introduce yourselves." The girls spare him a second of glance and, without so much of a care, turn back towards the class.

Umiko speaks in a clear, calm voice, "Pleased to be of your acquaintance. My name is Umiko Koyama." She turns to Sakura, pauses, and starts again, "This is my adopted sister, Sakura Haruno. She's... a selective mute. Don't try to get her to speak." Umiko's voice has turned soft, but there's a deadly quality to it. "She won't." Sakura grins at the class and gives a peace sign. The students think that she looks happy, so why doesn't she talk? The teacher's gaze falls on these pretty girls for a moment longer, a flashing emotion that comes and goes in a second.

There's chatter once again, and once more the teacher cuts it off, "Koyama, Haruno, find an empty seat." The girls obligingly move together to find two seats in the third row and walk towards them to sit until-

"So, what. Are you, like, retarded?" one of the girls says snidely. She's in the first row and looks like the kind of girl that'll bitch over everything. Her makeup is caked onto her face, so even if she's pretty on the inside, you'll never know. Right now, she's smirking like she owns the world and the girls look at each other and shake their head slowly and giggle together and walk again.

"Hey! I was talking to you! Don't just igno-"

"Matsumoto, enough! I'm about to teach right now, so listen carefully."

Matsumoto Amane turns to the front to face Uchiha Sasuke and gives him a coy smile.

"Of course, Sasuke-sensei. Anything for you." She says this in an attempt to be sexy and to emphasize her behavior, she leans forward and thrusts her breasts out to catch Sasuke's attention. Sasuke merely turns his head away and pretends like he saw nothing. His expression gives nothing away so Amane can't tell if he saw or not. Ugh, so frustrating. She falls back into her seat with an annoyed puff and folds her arms in petulance. Just wait and see, Uchiha-sensei. You _will_ be mine. Amane's lips curl into smile of anticipation. It's only a matter of time...

* * *

It's finally lunch break and by God, Sasuke's tired. He stretches his arms out and twists around, satisfied at the crackling in his spine. He flops into his chair and rubs his hands against his face. Sometimes, teaching at Koroki High is such a pain in the ass. Especially when girls wore their button down shirts unbuttoned _just_ for him. He sighs his discontent and lets his train of thought wandered.

He thought of the two new students that he had today. Sakura Haruno and Umiko Koyama. Weird haired girls. Pink and white, respectively. Well, white hair he had seen before on one of his friends back in high school. Suigetsu, he remembers. But, at least his was a little off-white-ish. This girl's was, like, blinding white. Like, fresh snow white. Oh, and don't even get him started on the other girl's pink hair. Like, _pink._ Come on, now. And it was a pretty pastel pink. The kind that belonged on a little girl's wallpaper background with princesses frolicking around.

Not only that, but also... it was their eyes. Their eyes said a lot about them. It wasn't the eyes of a normal sixteen year old. No. Something about them show that they know shit about this world and they're not the type to fuck around. Because, honestly, what kind of pretty girl like Haruno doesn't talk without something shitty happening to her? Sasuke also remembers Umiko's soft, but silently threatening tone and he knows that sixteen year olds shouldn't be able to talk like that. He sighs again and shakes his head. Bah, he must have eaten something weird. Thinking about girls. And students, no less. Fuck. He shakes his head to dispel the thoughts and forces himself to think about his schedule for the next class. For now, he tries to forget the pretty pink that belongs in fairy tales. Because at this age, Sasuke knows that fairy tales are for the stupidly blind. He doesn't have time for shit like that anymore. After all, life stops for no one.

* * *

Shit ending, I know. TT O TT.  
Read and review anyway! :D.


	2. let's play pretend

chapter two: let's play pretend

WHYHALLOTHAR.

Woooooooow, it took me forever to write/edit this damn chapter. SORRY, KIND OF.

ENJOY.

* * *

Inside the ring, it's dark and Umiko can't see her opponent. Her eyes squint trying to get used to the black, but the lights only flash in the crowd. There are no windows for any light to sneak in and Umiko feels almost claustrophobic, but she has always been shoved into uncomfortable situations, so she lets the little discomfort become nothing.

Suddenly the a stage light shines on a masked announcer and all is silent and the tension is rising. He stands at the entrance of the ring and his smile is undeniably wide.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Ring!" The people cheer and roar and Umiko wonders what is so interesting about two people fighting to survive.

"Today, we have... THE GENTLEMAN!" A light flashes onto a boy with jet black hair and empty blue eyes. His eyes speak of an emptiness so deep Umiko knows that he's been through hell and back and then some.

"And the opposing opponent is... PANDEMONIUM!" The crowd becomes even more boisterous because these two fighters are among the best, but Umiko knows that does not fight to win-she only fights because she's young and this is the best she can do to live.

The Gentleman looks at her with a coldness that belongs to a predator watching his prey. He raises his fists up in a defensive position, with a knife in each hand. She mirrors his stance, raising her daggers as well.

She quietly whispers, "Let's dance."

They're twenty feet apart, but Umiko closes it easily with a quick jog and stops ten feet from him. She rushes him with amazing speed and she knows she's taken him off-guard, if his automatic step back says anything. She makes an easy lunge with her right knife, but it's a feint and when he raises his knives in a crisscross to protect his midsection, she slashes his right forearm with her left. He curses and leaps back, but doesn't expect her to follow him. He's taken by surprise again and watches her carefully this time around, scrutinizing for her next move. She stops in front of him and drops low, knives poised outward and she makes another lunge with both knives and he blocks them with his own, but lightning fast, she aims a roundhouse kick to the left side of his abdomen and knocks the wind out of him. Umiko takes advantage of this and she slices his right thigh. She leaps back and goes back into a defensive position.

He clutches his thigh and glares at the white-haired girl. He's severely underestimated her, fooled by her beautiful exterior, and now he pays the price. Well, then. His eyes narrow, calculating and malicious. Now, it's time to show what he's really made of.

He puts one knife into his mouth, biting the hilt, leaving one hand free. He runs to her and sends a fisted uppercut with his left hand that's holding the knife. She blocks it with her own arm, but he latches onto that arm with his right fist and flips her over his shoulder. She lands on her feet with a thud, but she doesn't lose her clarity and is able to block a deadly slash to her chest that could have easily sent her to the emergency room.

He takes the knife in his mouth and tries to catch her by surprise, but she's already rolled out from under him and there's a sudden pain on his left thigh.

Shit. The bitch already got him three times.

The fight has already lasted half an hour, but he already has three marks on his body, while his opponent is clean. He's close to losing hold of himself and wants to slash down everything in his path because he's explosive and angry and females aren't supposed to be so skilled with knives. He's ten feet away from her and they're both circling each other waiting for the other to make the next move.

Suddenly, he dashes and about five feet in, he tosses one of his knives up in the air and for a split second, she's distracted and in a wild attempt, he throws the knife he's holding and watches with frustration and anger when it misses a hairline from her face. He growls and narrows his eyes, rage evident in his features.

It was a poor imitation of the misdirection technique, he knows. A few years ago, a famous butterfly knife fighter, Second Drizzle, perfected it and used it with dangerous effectiveness. In fact, she didn't just toss knives in the air to distract her opponent. She would juggle three at a time. He tried to copy it in a simpler version, but it's harder than it looks. He catches the falling knife and scowls because it'll be hard to get the other one. She jumps back two meters, eyeing him warily.

She becomes a blur when she suddenly dashes him and throws a punch that he dodges by quickly side stepping to the right. He grabs her arm, but she's prepared for that because before he can flip her her over again, she pulls his arm towards her and spins behind him, twisting his arm so that it's awkwardly placed on his back. She grabs his arm, jerks it up, and he spazzes in pain because no human's arm is supposed to bend that way. She slices his forearm, pushes him flat on the ground and digs her knee into his back. She lets go of his arm and swiftly slashes his shoulders.

There. She's made a full circle. The crowd erupts into either cheers or booing and Umiko faces the crowd with an overly bright smile that sends her insides twitching.

Barely maintaining her composure, she cheers, ""Thank you, thank you! You've been a wonderful audience! Please, come again!" She makes front flips and waves her arms to the crowd until it's been long enough that she can go.

She looks over to where Sakura is waiting with a sad smile and Umiko gives a weary nod back. She leaves the ring and slowly trudges to Sakura with her heart falling to her feet with each step. But, she shows none of it on her face. (Weakness is not tolerated. Not anymore.) Sakura opens her arms and Umiko falls into the embrace and both girls squeeze each other hard. They pull back and Sakura chuckles joylessly when Umiko notices that Sakura is looking at something behind her. Umiko follows her gaze and grimly watches The Gentleman cursing her two ways to hell and back. She stares back at him, emotionless. She turns back without another glance and leads Sakura to the back exit. She has better things to do.

* * *

It's second period and Sakura and Umiko are in no mood to fuck around. Amane's was doing everything in her oh-so-mighty power to make them miserable and it's all Sakura can do not to just send a few senbon flying her way.

Only half the period's gone by, but Amane's managed to make four indirect jokes about Sakura, has thrown six paper balls at her when Uchiha-sensei's back was turned, and has tried to trip Sakura once when she was handing out worksheets. The time she's not trying to harass Sakura, she makes sexual innuendos at Sasuke. While she isn't the most outstanding type of person, Umiko has to admire her tenacity.

"Neh, Uchiha-sensei, I need some help?" She smiles oh-so-innocently and Sasuke sighs.

"Matsumoto, you're not in this class because of luck. You're in AP Calc because you do well in school. Don't pretend," he admonishes quietly. Amane's purple eyes flash in hurt and shock, but Sasuke has already turned to the board to continue about integrals and derivatives. She leans back into her seat and frowns, the very picture of a child not getting her way. She pouts and her eyebrows furrow in frustration.

Sakura looks back at Amane contemptuously and snorts. Amane's expression morphs into something highly offended and her eyes blaze with anger. But, Sakura hasn't cared about the girl since she's walked in to the class and she's not about to now.

"And what the hell do you think is so funny?" Sakura looks back, arches one perfect, pink eyebrow, and looks Amane up and down critically. Then, she meets her eyes and Amane can read not only the confidence, but also the contempt.

"You little pink-haired freak. Don't you look at me like that!" she spits out, venomously.

Sakura merely turns around and, only because Uchiha-sensei's back is turned, sticks out her middle finger like she's proud and grins. Umiko quietly chuckles because she knows that Sakura loves goading people and enjoys a good blow-up every now and then.

Amane shrieks and Sasuke whips around, alarmed, because unless the world is ending, there is no need for anyone to shriek like a banshee. Then, he sees Matsumoto stuttering in anger and glaring daggers at Haruno and sighs at the scene. Typical. Haruno, the picture of innocence, and Koyama, a knowing, sardonic glint in her eye.

"Matsumoto, for future occurrences, please don't shriek so loud." He turns back and continues on the problem he'd been showing the students step-by-step. Sakura turns around and sticks her tongue out, childishly, and Amane vows to destroy her. She mouths it to Sakura, I will kill you. Sakura merely smirks and Amane can read the challenge in her apple green eyes, loud and clear.

Give it your best shot.

* * *

Lunch could not come any sooner and Sakura feels like she can finally breathe when she sits on the roof. In fact, she's sitting right over on the edge, but doesn't give a damn about the four-story-high-building height.

She loves being high in the air and looking down to see all the miniaturized people, buildings, etc. They're like little toys and sometimes, just for fun, she'll shut one eye, widen the other one for better focus, and pretend to be holding something between her thumb and index finger.

She smiles at her silliness and swings her feet back and forth. She's leaning on the railing that lines the edge of the roof and thinks she could almost fall asleep there. An easy, spring wind blows through her petal pink hair and it feels good against the warm weather.

Sakura loves spring. In fact, she loves it so much that she thrives during the spring weather. Her pink hair seems to sheen all the more and when she's surrounded by the blooming flowers, she easily resembles a fairy.

The door opens and when she hears it she sighs because dealing with people can be such a pain. She turns around and is mildly surprised to see Uchiha-sensei. But, looking at him, expressionless and quiet, she realizes that he does seem like the person to come to the roof to relax or think. She turns back around and she relaxes again.

When Sasuke opened the door to the roof, he was definitely not expecting anyone to be there before him. In fact, because he can be alone, he comes up here every time he has the free time to, unless he has papers to grade and such.

When he sees Sakura, swinging her legs over the edge of the roof, he stares for awhile until he realizes that he doesn't care. She won't be a bother to him.

So he sits down, as far as he could be away from her, and leans against the wall. He hears some shuffling coming towards him and he lazily opens one eye to see Sakura peering at him curiously. He sighs and just closes his eye again. After a minute, he hears more shuffling and something that sounds like writing, and he feels her poke him once in the arm and he grunts. She pokes him again and he waves her off with one hand, eyes still firmly shut. She pokes him again, not on the arm this time, but on his ear so that he flinches and his eyes fly open. He glares at her and she laughs.

She's squatting in front of him with a notebook held out facing him and he reads, I spy something grumpy, gloomy, and sleepy. He glares at her and she grins.

"Well, I spy something pink that should not be pink." She snorts and begins to write again.

I spy, with my pretty green eye, something red and fast moving. He frowns and gives a cursory glance over the railing on the town. He sighs and she quickly writes something.

I'll even give you a hint. It goes like this: and she puts her notebook down and pretends to be a race car driver, sharply steering the wheel and angrily honking the horn. She looks at him and he has an aloof face, "That was too easy. Almost insulting," he gives her a wry look, "And you know it." He looks past the school gates and when he sees his goal he says, "I spy something tall, brown, pink, and green." She scrambled to the railing and puts her hand over her eyes and flicks her eyes from there to there.

There. That should get her looking for a while. But, she flounces back and she's already written, Sakura tree. She has a dry look in her eye that says, You're going to have to do better than that.

She scans the area again and, for a moment, Sasuke thought she'd given up looking. There was just too much going on in the city. But, then she starts writing again.

I spy, with my drop-dead-gorgeous-apple-green eye, the center of its outer rings.

"You like to make it difficult, don't you." She shrugs and grins cheekily. He frowns and wonders why he's even talking, at least on his part, to this girl he's just met a few days ago. A student, no less.

Are you even trying, yet? He glares at her and she giggles.

"The average high school student doesn't play a silly game of I Spy with her Calculus teacher."

I'm not the average high school student.

He sighs again, resigned, "Of course, you're not. You don't even talk."

He looks around the town that surrounds the high school building. The center of its outer rings? What did that even mean? Sasuke supposed that she just meant that there was something literally placed in the center of a place, but there was a whole town around them! He let out sigh of frustration and continues looking. He glances over at her and he becomes infuriated when she smirks because she knows he's frustrated. He looks even harder and scrutinizes the town.

Its outer rings... its outer rings... Suddenly, he finally sees it.

The corner of his lips tilts a fraction upwards and she laughs when she sees his moment of triumph in his eyes.

"The Sakura tree in the center of the park. The brick ground circles around it, each layer separated by a plant of something or another." He expects her to finally let him go, but when she smirks again, he can't help but narrow his eyes.

Took you long enough. Umi-chan and I play even more cryptically.

The mischievous light in her eyes does not remain unseen, You'd better get to my level, neh, Uchiha-sensei?

His onyx eyes narrow further in challenge and he sharpens himself even more. He leans forward, eyes intent, and she watches him just as intense, ready to play.

"Try me."

* * *

It's six in the morning and Umiko is out for her morning jog. Running comes easy to her. It's an easy rhythm of breath in, breath out, left, right, left, right. She wears light, sweatshirt and shorts, because the weather is at its peak in springtime. Her earphones are in her ears and the music is blasting because now she's just in her own world.

She passes a park and as she runs, she remembers when she, Sakura, Kaa-chan, and he used to be a family and all that it entailed. The laughter, the love, and the life. She and Sakura were around four to five years of age. Umiko fondly remembered the two of them on the swings, both pushing to swing as high as they could because for that short moment, they felt that they were flying.

Not noticing where she was running, Umiko stumbles on a rock and curses herself silently. She looks at the park once more, mournfully, and shakes herself out of the past. Happy things weren't meant to last forever, right?

She faces forward again, but something yellow-ish and mustard-ish and red catches her eye all at once. She whips her eyes to the source and sees a male redhead, a female with dirty blonde hair tied into four pigtails, hovering over what seems to be a black, shapeless mass of a body. It's not that she's saying he or she is fat, but all she can see are some legs sticking out wearing dark clothes and she can't see said person's shape. Their clothes are all ragged, and the two sitting are panting like they'd run for twenty miles, nonstop.

She stops running and wonders whether she should look over or not. It's not everyday that she happens to see two people hovering over a person like he's dead. She walks over and when the redhead sees her, he snarls at her, "Get lost." His eyes flash dangerously, but Umiko is not easily scared off by someone just little more than a boy.

"You're hovering over a body and you expect me to let it go?" she asks, tonelessly. Umiko assumes that it's a he because his shoe size is way too big to fit a girl. The dirty blonde female turns to look at her and her eyes narrow in suspicion.

"Get outta here, girl. It's not worth losing sleep over." But, Umiko hears the ragged tone and realizes that they actually might be in trouble. However, the redhead is glaring at her with all the anger in the world and dealing with them just might not be worth it.

She silently debates with herself when she hears someone panting. And the two in front of her are not panting so hard.

She frowns and forgets that these are strangers, they can hurt her, and steps closer. As she nears, the redhead growls, but she doesn't let it stop her. She gets close enough to see over the girl and her eyes widen because even if it's not that bright out, she can still see the dark smudges on the person's skin.

He'd been beaten all over, black and blue. His arms are littered with scratches and even if they're not fatal, they must sting because there are so many. His legs were trembling from what was probably exhaustion and his eyes were screwed shut. She looks at the other two's clothes and realizes that they'd make poor bandages, ripped as they are, because they're all dirty.

"Oh, shit," she whispers.

"Oh, shit's right, girl, so unless you can do something helpful, then get outta here," the blonde mutters. Umiko looks at her and sees the mixed feelings in her eyes. She catches just a bit of misery, a bit of anger, and bit of helplessness. She knows those feelings well.

It only takes her an instant to make a decision.

"The fuck are you st-!" the redhead begins to yell, but promptly loses his voice when she stares at him with just as much intensity, but without the anger.

"I'll be right back," her eyes are serious, "Don't move a muscle!" Umiko runs off and the two people are stare after her, wondering just what she could do. Well, it's not like they could go anywhere. So, they wait.

Umiko runs about two miles off into the street where all kinds of different shops are lined up. She easily finds an alleyway and slips in hidden by the shadows, watching the outside carefully. About ten minutes or so later, she finally sees what she'd been waiting for.

An unsuspecting runner. A male, with a lean and built body. He passes by her hiding spot and she pulls her hood over her face and hair. Stalking him from behind, she catches up with him easily because he was only jogging and she could sprint the short distance easily. She stops a foot behind him and promptly squashes the guilt in her heart for what she's about to do. She steels herself and tackles him to the ground.

They both land with a thud, but the man is suddenly disoriented because something just attacked him and so he just flails his limbs wildly.

"I don't have any money!" he wails.

"I don't want your money-I just need-ha!" She finally manages to grab his wrists and push his arms onto the ground. She was sitting on his back so he wasn't been able to do much except kick wildly and miss. Then, he gives up when he realizes that he's lost to a girl and he's going to yell for help.

"Hel-!" Suddenly, the world starts to darken around the edges and he falls himself falling unconscious. He vaguely recognizes a stinging pain on the side of his neck and just barely understands that she just karate-chopped him unconscious. Then, he finally falls to the ground, knocked out.

Umiko sits up and releases a sigh, feeling mildly bad about what she's about to do. She pulls out her daggers from under her sleeves and begins to rip up the man's sweatshirt into long strips.

Finally, she's done and looks at the poor, unconscious man. She cut up most of his hoodie into strips and she feels bad, but when she remembers the boy bleeding and hurt, she doesn't feel as bad. One man's curse is another's blessing, they say.

She runs back to the trio and when she arrives, the two are still hovering around him and he's still half dead, slipping in and out of consciousness.

"Here," she hands over the clean strips of cloth that the girl takes with a skeptical expressions. She raises an eyebrow at Umiko because they looks suspiciously like a former article of clothing. She opens her mouth to ask, but-

"Don't ask." Temari pushes her lips to a close and understands that some things are better left unsaid.

"Thanks," she says grudgingly. Umiko just grins.

The blonde girl uses one strip to clean some of the dirt off his wounds and ties the rest of the over the cuts. As she's working, Umiko watches with a careful eye. When the girl is done, she turns to thank Umiko again, but the redhead cuts her off and asks, "How did you get them?"

Umiko blinks, "You weren't supposed to ask." He says nothing and just stares, waiting for an answer.

She waits a bit, debating, and slips her daggers from her sleeves. She holds them up sheepishly. The blonde and redhead's eyes widen a bit because even if they suspected it, they didn't really expect it to be true. Umiko slips her daggers back into place under her sleeves without comment.

"Well," she begins awkwardly because the two are watching her with a little less suspicion and something else, but she doesn't try to catch it, "See ya around." She turns and begins running again.

"Oi!" She turns at the sound of the female's voice. "What's your name?" Umiko stops and looks, her turn to be suspicious. She meets their eyes eyes and doesn't know what to do, but goes with her gut and she replies, "Umiko. Umiko Koyama." Then the blonde nods and grudgingly repeats, "Thanks. We just... we couldn't..." Umiko understands what she can't put into words, "I know." Her eyes meet the redhead's and she can see the anger has lessened a bit, and he acknowledges her with a quick nod and she snorts quietly. He glares at her mutinously. The girl opens her mouth to speak again, "Usually, girls don't just carry knives under their sleeves for fun." Umiko is not surprised at the observation and replies, "They don't. Eventually, it just became a habit." She raises an eyebrow, "A habit to carry around knives for a run? At a time when most of the world is asleep?" Umiko's eyes become like stone, "Sometimes, monsters don't have to be under the bed to haunt you." The blonde and Umiko stare at each other and small, almost friendly, knowing smiles pass through their lips. The blonde nods in understanding, "Temari Subaku," she jabs at the redhead with a thumb, "Gaara," and points to the person on the ground, "and this idiot's Kankuro." Umiko smiles and says, "It was a pleasure to meet you." She turns to begin running again, "Goodbye, Temari-san, Gaara-san."

"See ya, Koyama." Umiko nods and runs off, eventually disappearing when she makes a turn. Temari watches for a bit more before picking up one of Kankuro's arms to hold up and motions Gaara to do the same. They both hold him somewhat upright and Kankuro wakes up with bleary eyes.

"Whe' a' we?" he drawls.

"Somewhere in Konoha."

Kankuro sighs, "Shi'. Tha' far?" He notices the strip of cloth tied around his arm and questions his siblings, "That wasn't there before."

Temari makes an unladylike snort, "No shit, Sherlock." She looks to the path Umiko disappeared to and continues, "Some girl had been running and happened to pass us." She looked back to Kankuro, "She had daggers strapped under her sleeves and ripped some random guy's sweatshirt to wrap around since our clothes look like shit-stained rags."

Kankuro asks, "Huh? Really?" He wonders a bit. "Daggers, under her sleeves." He frowns, "That's weird. Hmm..." Temari nods impatiently and begins to drag Kankuro. "C'mon. We gotta get somewhere. Might as well go to Naruto's since we're in Konoha." Kankuro sighs and slowly treks on, "But, he's so dirty."

"Now's really not the time to be worried about that. Considering that we're in the middle of fucking Konoha and we live in Suna. Although," Temari tone turns into something nervous, "Maybe we should move to Konoha since you know-"

"Temari. Be quiet." Gaara speaks just above a whisper. The other two look at Gaara expectantly and he silently mulls over their next course of action. He sighs and says, "Yeah, we'll move to Konoha. Around Naruto 'cause, I hate to admit it, but Naruto and the others are here and just... yeah." Temari chuckles and has a knowing glint in her eye that Gaara promptly ignores. As they walk to Naruto's, Gaara stares down the road that the girl, Umiko Koyama, disappeared into and wonders what kind of monsters she's seen.

Maybe they can compare notes.

* * *

It'd been two and a half weeks since Umiko had last seen the trio of misfits that she'd run into that morning. She'd told Sakura a little after she got home because by the time she finishes running and gets home, Sakura is up and about, getting ready for school.

She wonders whether Kankuro's okay now. Sometimes, when she runs, she looks around. Maybe they'd appear again. She sighs at the impossibility and put her head in her hands, leaning on her elbow. She let out a breath of boredom and was going to take out her pencils and paper to write notes, but then the door slams open and she looked to see who and wh-

It's Gaara. Umiko's eyes are wide because she's unprepared for the sight. It's an implausible reunion and she doesn't know how to react.

Uchiha-sensei mutters something under his breath about the damn door and says, "Subaku? Introduce yourself and then find a seat."

Gaara turns his bored, sea green eyes, and when he turns to face the class, he really should've expected familiar ocean blue eyes that he'd happen to see one morning, totally on accident. His expression changes a bit to express the shock. Then, he narrows his eyes at her and she quirks an eyebrow before going to pick something up.

Now, that she's in full light, he's able to fully appreciate her looks. Snow white hair, and deep ocean eyes. She's sitting down so he's unable to see her body, but since he knows that she's a runner, she must be fit to some degree. Although, she must also be knife fighter if she carries knives everywhere she goes, he mulls over silently.

"Gaara Subaku," he says briefly. The majority of the girls giggle at his lean, muscular build and his green eyes and his fire red hair. He ignores them.

He proceeds to walk down the aisle and situates himself in the seat behind Umiko (which just so happens to be a coincidence). She turns around as soon as he sits down and quietly asks him, "Is he all right?"

Gaara has a questioning look before Umiko prompts him with, "You know, Kankuro, was it?"

Ah, that. He nods curtly and mutters, "He's fine, got to him to a hospital right after." She absorbs that and nods with relief. She turns back around to Uchiha-sensei talking.

Gaara ponders about this girl. This girl, who carries knives for a run. This girl, he realized, wasn't afraid to look him in the eye. During the short time that they met, she ignored his threatening presence. Most don't do that. In fact, they fear him because when they meet his eyes, they can see something smoldering in its darkness. The hair on the back of their necks stood on end.

However, it was also her answer that intrigued him. He leaned into his chair.

Monsters.

He might know a thing or two about them, too.

"Subaku-kun!" a voice calls out suddenly. He turns to find a purple haired girl smiling at him with all the innocence in the world and he feels his mental alarms ringing hell. He narrows his eyes, "Ah?" She smiles, "I'm Amane Matsumoto and if you ever nee-"

"She's giving her indirect invitation of 'let's fuck sometime.'" Umiko drawls out. She leans her head back and holds in a quiet chuckle when she sees Matsumoto immediately fuming with tight fists.

Amane flips her waist length purple hair. "At least, I've had a man," she says it like it's something to be proud of, "Unlike me, there're probably cobwebs in your vagina."

Umiko tenses slightly, but Gaara sees it. He'd trained himself all his life to catch things most aren't even aware of. An innocent comment, but a complex reaction. He watches her carefully. The girl next to her, with pink hair-the fuck?-glances at Umiko and he sees the small bit of alarm in her apple green eyes. Then, Umiko relaxes soon enough and replies, "Well, you are the resident whore." Her eyes grin and Amane shrieks in indignation. "Wha-!"

"Matsumoto!" Sasuke yells. "This is getting ridiculous. Stop shrieking so loudly!" Amane stutters because Sasuke never makes outbursts, "B-b-but, sh-she-!" Sasuke rubs the crease between his eyebrows insistently and says, "Unless someone's dying, do not do that again. And Koyama, don't give me that grin." Umiko grins, knowing exactly which smile he's talking about and Sasuke shakes his head, exasperated, albiet a bit amused. He catches Sakura's eyes and even though they're mostly laughing, he finds a hint of worry. She glances at Umiko, though, and the worry dissipates when she sees her sister smiling.

There was nothing to be worried about. Especially not a catfight with Matsumoto. So, what was it?

He sighs, shakes it off and continues teaching the class.

* * *

Umiko and Sakura eat on the roof because it's easier being alone than being surrounded by idiots. But, they're not the only ones.

Temari opens the door and when she sees Umiko, she grins.

"Hey."

"Hi," Umiko greets and Sakura gives her a questioning look.

"That's the girl I bumped into during that morning jog." Sakura nods, remembering how Umiko had told her about it when Umiko had gotten home after. She watches Temari walk over and sit down and gives a friendly wave and an amiable smile. She says, "Hey, I'm Temari Subaku. Senior student. Who're you?"

Sakura smiles a bit embarrassed now and motions that she doesn't speak. Temari arches one blonde eyebrow, looks at Umiko and says, "What a pair of weird girls, you two are. One carries her daggers when the world's asleep and her friend doesn't speak." She shakes her head and sighs, "Been through hell and back, have you?" Umiko grins knowingly, "Something like that."

Sakura rummages through her bag and pulls out a small notebook and flips to the first page. She presents it to Temari and it already has the words, My name is Sakura Haruno, written on it. She beams when Temari meets her eyes.

"Why don't you talk?" Temari asks bluntly, but not with contempt. Umiko sighs and says, "Your honesty is refreshing." Sakura stares, a bit taken aback as well. Usually, when people hear about her selective muteness, they become awkward and quiet and don't know how to respond to that. They fidget around her and eventually disappear. But, this person was just out with it.

She likes that. Sakura begins to grin. Temari grins back and in an untold way, the two girls know that they're gonna be great friends.

"Isn't it? Bullshitting is such a pain in the ass when there are things to do." She pulls out a bento from her bag and when she finally notices what Umiko and Sakura were eating and her expression is something akin to shocked.

"That's all you're eating?" Umiko and Sakura look down and nod. An apple and an orange. Nutritious fruit. Temari stares incredulously.

"That's it?" They nod again, confused. "You're not anorexic, are you?" Furious shakes of the heads and laughing expressions. "Well, then why do you eat just that?"

Umiko blinks and takes her time before answering. "We live on our own. It's kinda hard to get money for food when we've got rent and stuff." Sakura nods in agreement.

Temari says, "But, you're both growing girls!" She sounds distressed and Umiko is surprised at how unhappy she sounds. Was this really that big of a deal?

"Is this what you eat every lunch? How about dinner? Breakfast?"

Umiko says. "Sometimes, we skip breakfast. Other times, cereal if we have it. Dinner is pretty much the same."

"Oh, my-you survive on that? I have to eat like a cow everyday to keep me going."

Umiko and Sakura stare, eyebrows furrowed and Sakura hurriedly writes, Temari-san, we're not starving or anything. We're pretty used to it.

Temari stares at her horrified. She shakes her head, "No wonder you two are so rail thin. Look'it you!" she waves her arms around them wildly. "An apple and an orange!" She sighs and looks at them with sadness in her eyes. She moves to them and throws her arms around each girl and holds them tight to her person.

Yes, she's only met them today. Yes, they are strangers. She has no idea about their background their history, or their lives. They could be crazy murderers. All she knows is that they have a shady past and it doesn't look good on them.

But.

Temari can also tell that these girls live everyday finding something worth living for. They haven't found it yet and when she looks in their eyes, she sees something dark.

She sighs and she can feel the girl's shock in their bodies. They're a bit too stiff and it's hard to hug a stiff body. But, slowly they begin to relax and tentatively wrap their arms around her. She pulls back and says, "Well, wasn't that emotional? Ugh. Now, I feel soft and mushy and eugh, it's so girly." She cringes and rubs her arms up and down.

The bell chimes the lunch period's end and the girls sigh in unison. It was time to deal with people again.

"See ya guys, later, all right?"

Umiko smiles and says, "Definitely. Later, Temari-san." Sakura waves an enthusiastic goodbye and Temari chuckles. Then, she exits the door.

The two girls stare at the door for a moment. Sakura signs to Umiko, I like her.

"I know you do. So, do I."

I hope she's not gonna disappear, too.

Umiko looks at the sky. It's a clear day, not a cloud to be seen, and she hopes that the rest of her day will be just as promising.

"I hope she doesn't, either.


End file.
